The Great Gatsby

After about a whole month of preparation, the Woodstock High School Drama department shared their wonderful talents with us on Nov. 9-11. They had four shows, one on Thursday, one on Friday and two on Saturday. In order to perfect these two shows, they practiced every single day for a whole two weeks before the shows. In order to get information about all of the hard work put into the play, I talked to Logan Haines, a sophomore, who told me all about the play and what was done to prepare.

The Great Gatsby is a tragic story about a girl, Daisy, who fell in love with a man who had to later go out to the war. Due to lack of proper communication, she believed that he was dead, so she went ahead and married another man after some time. The man, Gatsby, then comes back home to this tragic news. Although he knows she is now married, he still wants to be with her, and she wants to be with him. They commit adultery by cheating, and then make things worse through a terrible accident. Daisy accidentally kills a woman on her way home! Due to his strong love for her, Gatsby takes the blame, but ends up getting killed by the dead woman’s husband. The husband then kills himself, ending this tragic story.

What a powerful story to have to portray. These great characters were Jay Gatsby played by Connor Jones, Daisy played by Sheridan Bass, Jordan Baker played by Ana Mello, Nick Caraway played by Malcolm Green, Myrtle Wilson played by Rachel Heitter, George Wilson played by Mason Nix, and Tom Buchanon played by Benjamin Petty. These amazing students played these characters and shared this tragic story to everyone.

Tom Buchanon, played by Benjamin Petty, Gatsby, played by Connor Jones, and Myrtle, played by Rachel Heitter, stand together proudly after Thursday nights production!

Photo Courtesy of: Daniela Salame

Not only did we have the actors working hard, but we also had people behind the scenes working as hard. There were people working on technical aspects of the play who also got the whole experience of the play and the preparation for it. Logan Haines, a sophomore, talked about how, “I felt great about the plays. I did sound as part of the booth crew and got to witness the entire show during all rehearsals and performances. Its ups, downs, scars, and gifts. It was by far one of the greatest experiences of my life and I believe our drama program really did this book and film a huge justice.” Even though there were people who didn’t get to act in the play, those who worked behind the scenes, whether it was on tech or props, all contributed and got to experience all of the ups and downs of the play. One of the stage crew members, Izzy Wheaton, a sophomore, told me that, “The Great Gatsby is such a beautiful play that was brought to life by so many amazing people who I am so proud to be able to work with.”

No need to fear if you did happen to miss these past plays. The drama department has plans for other future plays. One of the plans being the Addams Family Musical, which will be put out in April. Starting on Nov. 15, audition forms for tech and cast are available for starring. There will be two showcases, winter and spring, which are smaller performances for the acting classes to show everyone what they have been working on.

Thank goodness there will be future plays. Hopefully they will turn out as well as Gatsby did! We all know how all of their hard work paid off. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for April showtimes! I guarantee that you do not want to miss these amazing plays and musicals!

The red curtain is closed, hiding the first act before the play started!